Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Dealing and Coping with GUNPLA BurnOut

NO! No I am not experiencing Gunpla Burnout these days. Far from it. I am too anxious to start working on the main kit of my GBWC 2014 entry and I am currently enjoying joggling time in working on my commissioned works these days.I just thought of sharing my experience about the so called Gunpla Burnout.

I experienced a major "Gunpla Burnout" after 2011. I rushed my The O II Hauer in time for GBWC 2011. However the rules did not allow me to enter my The O. The expert category for multiple time winners of any Bandai sponsored competition only allowed friggin OOTB builds. I lost interest after that.

I almost unfriended Gunpla friends in Facebook and hated seeing Gunpla or Gundam updates everyday. I did not update my blog, I basically went awol. Although there are other reasons why I left Gunpla, not being able to enter my The O was definitely one of them.

28 months of NO Gunpla!!! That's 2 years and 4 months! If that did not qualify as Gunpla Burnout, I do not know what does?

In between 28 months, I did a few miniatures ( see photos below ). Although it seemed that painting minis did not help me to go back to Gunpla, at least my basic modeling skills did not deteriorate much. Working with minis will make you use your hobby knife and makes you hand paint a bit.

If not for painting minis, I could have been cycling the whole time while getting tattoos in between.

Thanks to minis, I kinda honed my hand painting skills. I did custom bases all the time. Some people think that modeling cars or armor is the best solution to battle Gunpla Burnout. Not for me. Its painting minis for yours truly.

Working with other model kits like cars, armors and plane is almost similar to Gunpla ( albeit harder Imho ). So I do not find it as a cure for Gunpla Burnout as it requires the same amount of patience and the same skills ( maybe more ) to finish one. I know its different for everybody, but its painting minis for me.

WHY? Painting minis is quicker than Gunpla. You get fullfilled faster. You learn a different set of skills to work on one and you get to do dioramas, err bases everytime. No sanding required, you just need to scrape of mold lines and then you prime and paint. I am over simplying minis, but you need to experience it to appreciate it. The photos below shows a few of my completed minis...

I highly doubt I will experience Gunpla Burnout ever again. I have set up a nice workshop in my new house and I just need a nicely built spray booth soon. I wasted 28 months of NO Gunpla already and would try not to let any Bandai sponsored competition pass from now on. I am confident to say that my passion for Gunpla is back, if not more than before.

However, if Gunpla Burnout does strikes back. I think painting minis will help me cure it. Only this time I know I will be back to Gunpla sooner than 28 months.

So that is basically your cure for Gunpla Burnout. Try new things, learn new skills and just enjoy the hobby! It's definitelly minis for me... I hope you find yours!